Products like D&O insurance protect from from legal liability but they hold no sway in the court of public opinion.

“CEOs now need to avail themselves of new tools that defend against these new types of threats – products that provide third party warranties and demonstrate good governance in a way that creates an easy to understand, and completely credible alternative narrative when bad or false news strikes. Companies and their executives need credibility to deter attacks and financial protection when attacks do occur.”

"Whenever there’s a corporate misstep, stakeholders, from activist investors to customers to politicians, are giving public voice to their anger through social media, doing damage not only to corporate brands, but to individuals in corporate leadership positions.…The executives who are vilified during a crisis become the personification of stakeholder dissatisfaction. When they are targeted, the personal losses can be devastating."

Crisis communicator culpable for reputational crisis with false news stirring up racial tensions. It is a question of ethics.

“Much of what has been alleged about our work is, we believe, not true — but enough of it is to be of deep concern,” Mr Henderson (Bell Pottinger’s CEO) added. “These activities should never have been undertaken.”

In June, 8 CEOs resigned or announced their departures. In the first five months of 2017, 13 companies with market values of more than $40 billion installed new CEOs—including American International Group Inc. In at least 1/3 of the cases, activists were involved reports the Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, at Ericson where Chairman Leif Johansson is stepping down under pressure according to the Financial Times,
“activist shareholder (Cevian Capital) quickly heaped heavy criticism on Ericsson’s board given the group’s poor performance, with Christer Gardell, Cevian’s co-founder, saying they had “done a very poor job”.”

“The ferocity and velocity of attacks in this era of weaponized social media often leads companies to try to satisfy the blood lust with human sacrifice – in the form of resignations, terminations and compensation claw-backs.”

“There will be many pages in the history books devoted to [Travis Kalanick],” wrote Bill Gurley, an Uber board member representing one of the firms that demanded Mr Kalanick’s resignation, in a tweet. “Very few entrepreneurs have had such a lasting impact on the world.”

Whole Foods’ John Mackey is at war with activist fund Jana
“They’re greedy bastards, and they’re putting a bunch of propaganda out there, trying to destroy my reputation and the reputation of Whole Foods, because it’s in their self-interest to do so.”
...Whole Foods has acknowledged problems — same-store sales have been falling for almost two years — but says it has a turnround plan and has promised to proceed with “a greater sense of urgency”. Last month it replaced its chief financial officer, chairman and several board members.